That Which Was Lost
by Silent Stalemate
Summary: Her family & friends. The life she had lived for twenty years. Hell, she couldn't even remember her name. Wasure, Memori. Blank Slate. How fitting a name for someone who couldn't remember a single thing about themself. Except for the pain as the blade sunk into her flesh, the release she felt as her blood flowed from the wound. Except for those green eyes and that pure white hair.
1. Chapter 1

That Which Was Lost

Ch. 0

Its black wings whispered through the air, the maroon tips on the hell butterfly's wings glistening in the sun. It gracefully fluttered throughout the Seireitei, overtop the mountains of rubble that had once served as apartments for the shinigami and grand palaces for the nobles. The sounds of hammers and saws filled the air, occasionally accompanied by the barking commands of those who had been assigned to lead the restoration process in their district.

It continued its ascent, floating past first the eighth and then ninth squad barracks. They still needed moderate repairs, but the butterfly wove in between the shinigami who kneeled on the polished wooden floors, reinforcing the walls with lumber and applying plaster in order to return the walls to their original state.

It finally flew through an open window that led into squad ten's main office, coming to rest on the outstretched finger of Tōshirō Hitsugaya as he sat at his desk. The hell butterfly slowly flapped its wings once, twice, and then became still as it relayed its silent information to him.

Tōshirō's eyes widened, and his voice was full of disbelief as he said, "_What_?"

The door to his office suddenly slammed open, and there was a flurry of orange hair and lip gloss as Rangiku Matsumoto stormed into the room, another hell butterfly perched on her shoulder as she shouted,

"Captain, have you heard?"

Tōshirō hurled a book at her, hitting Rangiku smack in the middle of her face and knocking her completely off her feet and down to the ground. His fists shook in irritation, his left eye twitching as he seethed,

"How many times do I have to tell you to knock before entering?"

He sighed as Rangiku tried to recover, raking his fingers through his spiky white hair in frustration. His turquoise blue eyes looked out the window beside him, and they narrowed when he saw the first squad's barracks looming in the distance.

"It appears as though Head Captain Kyōraku has found the eighth division a new captain."

**~0~**

"A new captain?"

Jūshirō froze in the act of trimming the bonsai tree, his green eyes instantly becoming contemplative as he processed the news. Rukia kneeled behind him on the well-kept lawn of the garden, and a nearby bamboo shishiodoshi filled with water before tipping over, the sound of the bamboo hitting the stones echoing throughout the gardens of Ugendō.

"Yes, sir," she confirmed. "I received the news approximately twenty minutes ago, followed by an invitation for you to join a welcoming party being held in order to honor the newly appointed captain later this evening."

He mulled over this information, using the trimming shears to cut off a few withered branches of the bonsai. He was rather taken off guard by the news, especially since it was obvious that Shunsui had failed to seek counsel with any other captains – himself especially - regarding the matter. As a matter of fact, since being promoted to Head Captain, this was the first decision that Shunsui had made without conferring with him, first.

"I wonder who it could be?" Jūshirō pondered aloud.

"Before coming to find you, I met with all the lieutenants and asked them the same question," Rukia informed, still kneeling behind him. "None of them had any idea that a new captain had been selected, and no one from any of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads has received a promotion of any kind for over a month."

Jūshirō turned around and motioned for her to rise, and there was a radiant smile on his face as he said, "I'm sure Shunsui had a reason for not informing any of the other captains of his decision. If he believes that the new captain is capable of fulfilling the demands of such a position, then I will put my faith in whoever it is, also."

"But, Captain," she protested in alarm, "we are just now beginning to make reparations after the assault launched by the Vandenreich. Isn't it rather careless of the Head Captain to appoint a captain at his own discretion, instead of asking for approval from the other captains as well?"

Jūshirō walked past his weary lieutenant, but he stopped long enough to place a reassuring hand on top of her head and ruffle her dark hair, "There's no need to worry, Rukia. This is a time of rebirth for the Soul Society, and we can only go forward."

He removed his hand from her head and continued to walk toward the house, waving goodbye with the pruning shears still in his hand, "Well, I might as well go prepare for the welcoming party."

**~0~**

Shunsui had transformed his enormous office into an elegant dining area.

Every desk and filing cabinet had been removed from the room so that a large rectangular dining table was all that stood in its center, surrounded by twelve matching chairs. Silver candelabras had been set across the top of the table, the candles already lit and their lavender scent wafting throughout the room. The screens along the front wall of the room had been pulled back, revealing the beautiful orange and pink tints of the sky as the sun set behind Sōkyoku Hill, creating a spectacular backdrop for the welcoming dinner.

A single young woman was hard at work setting the table as the captains arrived alone or in groups. Her nimble fingers arranged delicate china and expensive silverware, making sure that every knife rested perfectly straight on the ivory placemats before each chair. She used a damp rag to wipe each bowl and plate, and once she was finished she leaned back and pushed her long wavy brown hair out of her face, the determined set of her bright green eyes expressing how hard she was trying to make everything perfect.

Shinji Hirako's eyes followed the server's every movement, and when she disappeared from the room he leaned forward in his chair and rested his chin in the palm of his hand. Although he sounded bored, there was a business like look on his face when he asked the one question that all the others had been asking themselves the entire day,

"So who is this new captain?"

Rōjūrō, Kensei, Tōshirō, Sui-Fēng, and Byakuya glanced toward the Visored, the same look etched onto all of their faces- disapproval.

"Oh?" Shinji's eyebrow cocked. "So _no one_ has any idea who it is? Not even Stealth Forces? Or the nobles?"

Sui-Fēng crossed her arms across her chest, obviously irritated by his accusatory words, "None of us knew about the new captain until late this morning, and that's hardly enough time for Stealth Forces to obtain any reliable information. All I know for certain is that the new captain was never a member of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads."

"And no noble clans have submitted a request to have one of their own become a captain," Byakuya added.

Shinji sighed and leaned back in his chair, obviously displeased by the conclusion they were all able to draw: "So Shunsui _really_ did choose a new captain without seeking counsel with any of us."

"Yikes!" Shunsui Kyōraku breezed through the doorway, casually strolling into the room with his pink kimono trailing behind him, "You look like it's the end of the world, Shinji. If I would have known you guys would be so sour about this, I would have told you months in advance."

"So that's how long you've been considering this person?" Shinji asked. "Just a few months?"

"Not at all," Shunsui waved him off, taking a seat at the head of the table. He was immediately approached by the female server who poured sakē into his cup, and she respectfully served him from the left, paying extra attention to the fact that his right eye was covered by a black patch.

"Why, thank you," his overly flirtatious smile caused the others to grimace, but the server simply dismissed herself from his presence in order to circle around the table, pouring sakē for the others and taking requests for water or some other type of beverage, then leaving the room.

"Actually, Shinji," Shunsui addressed him once more, "I've been considering this particular person for well over a year. It's just that they needed a little help…_refining_ their skills. That, plus I had to do a lot of convincing in order to make them accept."

"Convincing?" Tōshirō's eyes narrowed. "If they didn't want to become a captain, why did you pursue them for so long?"

"Because I believe that they will be a valuable asset for the Soul Society," he replied matter-of-factly.

"How will that be possible" - the voice was almost a snarl, causing everyone to look and see Mayuri Kurotsuchi standing in the doorway – "when the new _captain_ didn't even attend the shinigami academy?"

There was a collective, sharp inhale of breath from almost everyone in the room. The effects of Mayuri's words seemed to please him, causing a sadistic smile to spread across his face as he glared at an unaffected Shunsui.

"I have been searching through databases all morning long," Mayuri informed. "Not only did I go through the files of all the shinigami currently serving in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, but I also went through every single file for those who are currently enrolled, or will enroll, in the academy. And do you know what I found? Nothing. There is no one capable of using Bankai except those who are already seated officers, so who, pray tell, did you manage to get Central 46 to approve to become cap- _Oof_!"

Mayuri was shoved out of the doorway, causing him to stumble before regaining his balance in order to cast a lethal glare toward Kenpachi Zaraki, but he only regarded Mayuri as though he was nothing more than a gnat buzzing around his head,

"Why are you standing in the door blabbering? Let's just get this over with and eat already."

He walked past Mayuri, leaving him trembling with anger until a large shadow overcast his entire form, making him glance to the side and see that Sajin Komamura and Jūshirō had entered the room.

"There is no need to get upset," he advised. "After all this time, you should know that Zaraki lacks respect, not just for you, but for everyone."

The three shinigami finally joined the others at the table, leaving the seat directly to Shunsui's right – the one reserved for the new captain– empty. The young server reentered the room, balancing a large silver tray on the palm of her left hand, using her right to set plates filled with steaming food before the captains. The scent wafting from each of them was simply mouthwatering, and when Shunsui picked up his fork he surprised everyone.

Jushiro was actually the one to speak up, saying, "Surely we aren't going to begin eating without the guest of honor?"

With the tips of his fingers, the Head Captain pulled the brim of his hat down over his face so that all they could see was his mischievous grin, "Who says they aren't here, already?"

"Quit monkeying around!" Mayuri slammed his hands down against the table, finally at his wits end with the entire situation. "You summoned us here – made us drop _everything_ we were in the middle of doing – just so that we could meet this so-called new captain. Not only that, but you tossed this unknown shinigami into our ranks without even so much as a single request for approval from any of us. And, now that I've taken the time out of my busy schedule to acknowledge this newcomer, _they don't even have the decency to show_?"

Air whistled through Mayuri's teeth as he bared them like a mad dog, his beady golden eyes shaking in their sockets as he glared at Shunsui. The captains silently observed the battle of words, the female server appearing to be the only one capable of moving as she quietly made her rounds, filling the silent captains' glasses with sakē as tension filled the room.

Shunsui silently regarded the Head of Research and Development for a moment, and then he said, "Well, I'm sorry that you feel that way, Kurotsuchi. But, you see-"

"I'm done with this nonsense!" Mayuri roared, rising from the table but slamming into the young woman who had been pouring his drink. She gasped as the bottle slipped from her hand, shattering against the wooden floor and drenching the bottom of Mayuri's white haori with sakē.

He finally exploded, screaming 'YOU STUPID WENCH' as he reared his hand back to strike her. But she caught his fist in the palm of her hand, digging her fingernails into his white flesh and stunning the entire room into silence. Her bright green eyes were narrowed as she glared at Mayuri, watching how he scrutinized her as his own golden eyes roved over her body from the black boots and trouser-like hakama pants that she wore to the simple black tank top tucked underneath the waistband. A long, delicate silver chain hung from her neck, the small triangular pendant dangling off the edge of her breasts causing Mayuri's eyes to widen when he saw the insignia for squad eight engraved into the metal.

"What I was trying to tell you, Mayuri," Shunsui smirked at the scene before him, "was that she has been here the entire time. She wanted to prepare dinner for us tonight as a show of respect."

Mayuri tried to pull his hand away, but the intent to kill was written all over his face, causing the young woman to sink her fingernails even deeper into his skin and render his sword arm immobile. His eyes narrowed, his voice a lethal whisper as he threatened her,

"You _will_ unhand me."

Blood began to seep from the crescent shaped holes she was cutting into his flesh, but her gaze didn't waver as she simply gazed back at him, saying, "I might consider it once you wipe that look off your face. That, and you also need to apologize for striking out at a helpless woman because of your own stupidity."

Mayuri's free hand reached for his sword just as she balled her own hand into a fist, aiming to punch him directly between the eyes until someone stepped in-between them, placing one hand on the hilt of Mayuri's sword and wrapping the other around her wrist, stopping her blow in mid-flight.

"Now, now. Let's not be fighting amongst ourselves like this," Jūshirō spoke calmly, a disarming smile on his face as he separated them.

Air whooshed from the woman's lungs as though she had been hit in the chest, her eyes wide as she beheld the captain of Squad Thirteen. Her expression was a mixture of shock and something else – was it fear? – as she slowly looked him over from head to toe, her gaze lingering on his long white hair before averting to where his hand encircled her wrist.

An intense, unexplainable burning sensation radiated from where his skin touched hers, causing her to yank her arm from his grip, the confused look on her face growing more intense as she cautiously stepped backward before turning around and running out of the room.

Shunsui sighed, closing his one good eye and pinching the bridge of his nose as he mumbled, "Well, that was a disaster."

X0x0X

_A short chapter, but this is just so that I can test the waters. I've only written Naruto fanfics prior to this, so please forgive the rough edges of this story. Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2 : Intrigue

That Which Was Lost

Chapter 1

Intrigue

The relentless evening sun bore down upon the Seireitei, making it unusually hot and humid for so late in September. Sweat soaked the bodies of the shinigami working to repair the Eighth Squad's jurisdiction, their muscles strained to the limit as they trudged by pulling carts laden with hundreds of pounds of lumber and clay roof tiles. Although reconstruction of this part of the Seireitei had been ongoing for almost a year, there were still many areas left to be repaired, mainly the enormous wall of Sekkiseki that separated the Seireitei from the Rukongai.

"Poor child," Jūshirō sighed as he and Shunsui walked through the district, looking at all the chaos and rubble that surrounded them. "You sure left quite the mess for her to clean up. She probably doesn't even know where to start."

"Ye of little faith, Jūshirō. She has actually proven to be quite resourceful when it comes to things like this. She had already come up with a redevelopment plan prior to me even considering her as captain of the Eighth Squad."

"But is that all you used in your consideration?" there was an uncertainty on Jūshirō's face. "Did you not consider her fighting capability? Her experience? What about the fact that she's so _young_, Shunsui? How in the world did you convince Central 46 to approve of this?"

Shunsui chuckled, "Well, about _that_…"

Jūshirō's jaw dropped, "Don't tell me that they don't know."

"Nope! They haven't a clue," Shunsui chirped, continuing to strut toward the Eighth Division's barracks, its expansive white plaster walls coming into view once they rounded the corner of a crumbling wall.

Jūshirō shook his head in disbelief, although he should have figured that, even though he was now Head Captain, his behavior wouldn't change in the least. He finally asked, "So why are we here?"

"Well, after the fiasco last night, I figured that the least I could do was offer an apology," he said, and then he glanced at Jūshirō. "And I thought that you might want to take the time and properly greet her without having a crowd around. After all, she looked at you as though you were some sort of three-headed fire breathing dragon."

"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?" Jūshirō protested, but Shunsui shrugged.

"I don't know. All I do know is that that was the first time I ever saw a woman run away from you instead of falling at your feet like a pile of mush."

Jūshirō cast him a playful glare, but he didn't have time to respond as they ascended the wooden steps leading up to the Squad Eight barracks. Walking through the open sliding screen doors, Shunsui walked down the narrow hall and stopped once he reached the third door on the left. Jūshirō patiently stood behind him as Shunsui rapped his knuckles against the office door, but, when there was no answer, he opened the door anyway so that both captains could peek inside the room.

"Huh? She's not here," Shunsui announced even though that much was obvious. Indeed, there was nothing inside the room except for four cardboard boxes piled in the center. There wasn't even a desk tucked into the corner of the room, nor drapes hanging from the large windows that dominated the front of the room, looking out over the entire area under the jurisdiction of Squad Eight.

"Captain Commander! Captain Ukitake!" someone gasped, and they turned around to see a male member of Squad Eight dropping down to the floor in order to bow before them.

"Now, now. No need to be so formal," Shunsui waved him off, making the squad member clumsily rise to his feet and stand before them as stiff as a board. "Any idea where your captain is at the moment?"

The man visibly relaxed, gesturing toward the stack of paperwork he held in his hand, "The Captain completed all her paperwork early this morning and has dispatched several of us to deliver it. She said that she was going to help the other squad members with repairing the northern portion of the Sekkiseki wall that's still heavily damaged."

"Thank you," Shunsui dismissed him, and the man left after bowing before them once more.

Shunsui began to leave, but he stopped once he realized that Jūshirō was still peering inside the room, a somewhat confused look on his face as he asked, "Where are the rest of her belongings?"

"She doesn't have any." Jūshirō looked at him in surprise, so Shunsui elaborated, "She's only been here in the Soul Society for four years, and that's hardly enough time for anyone to get settled. I gave her a sign-on bonus yesterday, and she was actually supposed to use that to go purchase some furniture this morning, take the weekend off, and then resume her duties on Monday. But I suppose that just goes to show you what kind of person she is."

Jūshirō closed the door behind them as they disembarked from the Squad Eight barracks, altering their course in another attempt to find the new captain. The heat was immense as the sun's rays bore down directly upon them, causing beads of sweat to drip down Jūshirō's brow as he rose a hand to block the sun from his eyes.

"Returning to the matter at hand," he was becoming quite breathless as they walked, "exactly how old is she? Do you really think it wise to make such a young woman a captain?"

"She's twenty-four. She arrived in the Soul Society when she was twenty, and she's spent four years here since then. So, really, she's not _that_ young."

"Shunsui," Jūshirō spoke slowly, trying to talk some sense into his friend, "the last time I checked, we were slightly over two thousand years old. That child is nothing more than an infant compared to us."

"That may be, but she is an infant who learns very quickly. And I was also hoping that you would help show her the ropes of being a captain."

Jūshirō stopped in his tracks, "_Me?_ You want _me_ to aid you in this unbelievable scheme of yours? Forget it."

"Aww," Shunsui whined as he turned around to face the stubborn white-haired man. "Don't be that way, Jūshirō. Surely you see the same potential in her as I do?"

"I've only met the girl once, Shunsui-"

"Head Captain Kyōraku!"

They both turned to see the subject of their conversation standing in the middle of the intersection of two walking paths ahead of them. She was waving energetically, her long brown hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun as she balanced a wooden yoke across her shoulders, the buckets on each end swaying dangerously and about to spill their contents.

"Now see there?" Shunsui waved back at her while addressing Jūshirō, "How often does another captain greet you like that?"

Jūshirō sighed and began to follow Shunsui as he approached her. She seemed to finally notice that Jūshirō was accompanying Shunsui, and her wave faltered for a moment until her smile grew even brighter, her wave becoming even more enthusiastic as she began to walk toward them. But then she seemed to remember something and suddenly stopped walking, turning and gesturing toward something behind the wall and out of their line of sight.

"Prepare yourself," Shunsui glanced back at Jūshirō, but before he could ask Shunsui what he was talking about, his jaw dropped.

An enormous wolf stepped out from behind the wall, its head falling just a few inches short of that of a horse. Every sinew of muscle rippled underneath its thick fur coat, the strands of hair shimmering like platinum in the light of the sun. Its paws were over a foot wide, the monstrous beast making no more than a whisper as it carried itself down the stone walkway toward them. Icy blue eyes nervously shifted left than right, obviously uncertain of its approach until the young woman's hand rose high above her head in order to comb her fingers through the lush fur of its jaw. It leaned into her touch, immediately relaxing as the three captains came to stand before one another.

"What brings you all the way out here, Head Captain?" she smiled pleasantly. "I figured that you'd be inside your office where it's nice and cold."

"I'm beginning to think that you have a bad impression of me," Shunsui chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "But, on a more serious note, I wanted to drop by and personally apologize for what happened last night. Maybe if I would have handled things a little differently, the others wouldn't have been so surprised."

"Don't even worry about it," she said, even though there was a bittersweet look in her eyes. "I knew beforehand that they would have a lot of difficulty accepting me amongst their ranks. I'm just glad that things didn't escalate into a fight between me and Captain Kurotsuchi." She turned her gaze to Jūshirō, and he was surprised when she bowed her head to him, "And I wanted to thank you for stopping me before I made a bad decision. I also wanted to apologize for treating you the way I did yesterday evening- it's just that you looked familiar somehow."

Shunsui's eyes narrowed, but then Jūshirō coughed into the back of his hand, his chest beginning to spasm lightly.

"No need to thank me," he sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, his eyes wincing in pain as he pressed the palm of his hand against his chest in an attempt to control the muscle contractions. "But I hope that you'll forgive this cursed sickness of mine. It never fails to intervene when I'm trying to have a proper conversation."

He coughed into the back of his hand once more, but the coughs never stopped coming. They were powerful, causing his entire body to quake until he had to kneel down upon the ground in order to keep from falling, the terrible coughs still racking his body as he tried to calm them.

"Sir!" She dropped the yoke from her shoulders, causing the buckets of water to spill all over the walkway as she kneeled by his side, one hand going to rest on his back while the other pulled his hand away from his mouth. She gasped when she saw the blood spattered across his palm, but he quickly pulled his hand from hers as the coughing slowly subsided.

"I'm alright," he assured her as he withdrew a handkerchief from within the pocket of his white haori, using it to wipe away the blood as he rose to his feet. However, the concerned look didn't leave her eyes as she stared at where the blood had been on his snow white skin.

"My goodness!" Shunsui suddenly exclaimed, a hand shielding his face as he gazed up at the sky. "Look at the time. It appears as though I'm already late to an important meeting. Memori?"

She jumped to her feet, "Y-Yes, sir?"

He glanced sideways at her, tilting the brim of his straw hat so that it covered half of his face as he said, "Would you mind escorting old Jūshirō here back home? We'd hate for him to be out in this heat all alone if he suffered another attack like that, wouldn't we?"

Jūshirō's eyebrows rose as he instantly caught on to the game that Shunsui was playing, but the girl bowed her head,

"Yes, Head Captain Kyōraku. I will at this very moment."

"Now, hold on," Jūshirō held his hands up in a yielding gesture, making both of them turn to look at him. "Don't I get a say in the matter?"

"No," they both said at the same time, and Shunsui turned his back to them, giving a lame wave before he disappeared, using his flash step to carry him to his destination and leaving the two captains alone.

"He's the devil," Jūshirō mumbled in disdain, but then the girl turned to him, a bright smile on her face.

"I don't believe I ever properly introduced myself." She held out her hand, saying, "My name is Memori Wasure. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He couldn't help but return her smile as he reached out and shook her hand, "I am Jūshirō Ukitake, Captain of the Squad Thirteen. It's a pleasure meeting you, also."

The sound of laughter came from not too far away, and both captains looked to see a group of men passing through the intersecting pathways.

"Excuse me!" Memori called to them, but only one of the men paid her enough mind to glance at her out of the corner of his eye. However, he did a double-take as soon as he saw her, slapping one of the men next to him in the arm before all five of them eagerly ran over to her and dropped to their knees before her.

"How may we assist you, Captain Wasure?"

An embarrassed blush spread across her cheeks, "Please don't be so formal with me." She gestured for them to rise, and as they did she walked back over to the enormous wolf and gestured for it to turn slightly to the left. Jūshirō finally noticed that a wooden pull-cart carrying several stacks of lumber and at least a hundred pounds of Sekkiseki stone had been hooked up to a leather harness that the wolf wore. As Memori's nimble fingers unfastened the buckles that attached the cart to the harness, she explained to the five men, "I have to escort Captain Ukitake back to Squad Thirteen's barracks. Will you do a favor for me and deliver these materials to the job site?"

"Yes, my lady."

Once all the buckles were unfastened, the wolf stepped away from the cart and shook its entire body before sitting down on the stone path. It took four of the men to be able to push down the handle of the cart and push it forward, and another man picked up the wooden yoke and two buckets from the ground before rejoining his fellow squad members as they heaved the wheeled cart toward the northern part of the district.

The wolf rose to its feet once more as Memori approached it. Sliding her left foot into a stirrup hanging from the leather harness, she threw her right leg over its back so that she now sat behind its large shoulder blades. One hand held onto a metal handle that was also attached to the harness, and then she leaned over and extended her hand down toward Jūshirō.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

Jūshirō was skeptical as he regarded the unnaturally large animal, but when the wolf's icy blue eyes focused on him, he leaned away, "Is that safe?"

Memori tilted her head back as she laughed. The sound was like the tinkling of a wind chime, unbelievably pleasant to his ears since it had been so long since he heard anyone laugh. When was the last time, actually? It had to be before the assault by the Vandenreich, several odd years ago.

"Come on," she was still smiling, and, with one last look at the wolf's unnerving gaze, he relented. He gently grabbed the hand she offered and pulled himself onto the wolf's back, its thick fur providing the perfect cushion against its vertebrae. His hands reached forward to steady himself, but then he realized that there was nothing to hold on to except for Memori.

"Are you ready?" she glanced back at him.

"Wait! No! I mean, what am I supposed to-"

The wolf surged forward like a strike of lightning, covering the ground so quickly that Jūshirō's breath whooshed from his lungs and he began to slide back and off the wolf. His arms flailed until he reached forward and grabbed her around the waist, wrapping his arms securely around her. Her entire body grew stiff for a split second, but then she relaxed and cast a glance at him from overtop his shoulder,

"See? It's not too bad, is it?"

And it truly wasn't. The wolf effortlessly glided across the stone walkways, its brisk gait much smoother than that of any horse he had ever ridden. It didn't even seem to mind the weight of the two of them riding atop its back as Jūshirō felt its muscles rippling beneath him, stretching and contacting as it loped through the Seireitei at least five times faster than any normal shinigami could run. The breeze against his cheeks helped to cool him down, too, and he felt so weightless that the nagging pain in his chest began to fade.

"This is actually quite wonderful."

Her green eyes were alight with joy, "His name is Zetsubō."

"Do you mind me asking how you came across a wolf as enormous as this?"

"All I know is that, when I woke up in the Soul Society for the first time, he was right by my side, curled around me in the grass."

His brow furrowed, "When you woke up?"

She was quiet for a while, almost as though she was contemplating whether or not to answer his question. But she eventually shrugged,

"I have no memories of my life as a human."

His eyes grew wide, his mouth opening and closing only to open and close again as he struggled to find something to say. She glanced back at him and saw the shocked look on his face, and she continued,

"I don't even remember my own name. People in the Rukongai didn't believe me at first, and because of my spiritual pressure they were afraid that I was a spy or enemy of some sort. When Head Captain Kyōraku heard about the situation, he personally visited the Rukongai in order to meet me. Unlike the others, he didn't perceive me as a threat. He saw me for what I truly was – lonely, confused, and scared – and he brought me here to the Seireitei and gave me my name. Wasure, Memori. Forgotten Memory."

A long silence ensued as Jūshirō ponded her words. He had never heard of anyone simply waking up in the Rukongai without a single memory of their past. Sure, there were souls who had lived in the Soul Society for so long that they began to forget their human lives, but nothing to the extent that she was describing.

The poor girl didn't even know her own name.

"But it's alright," she finally spoke. "Maybe this is a unique gift, allowing me to begin my life all over again. A fresh start. Many people dream of having this opportunity that I have."

It sounded as though she was trying to convince herself of this more than anyone else, and there was great sadness in Jūshirō's eyes as he asked, "But do _you_ dream of this? Are you comfortable with having absolutely no memories of your past? Not just the bad one, but the good, also?"

"Of course I'm not comfortable with it," she instantly admitted, surprising him. "I would give anything in order to remember the faces of my mother and father, or any siblings if I had them. Sometimes I think that I would love to remember what kind of person I used to be in the human realm, but then…"

Her voice trailed off, and she slowly shook her head as though to dispel the thoughts swarming inside her mind.

"But then what?" Jūshirō asked, intrigued by course of her thoughts.

She glanced back at him, trying to conceal the hurt nestled deep within her eyes but failing to do so. Her hands tightened around the silver handle until her knuckles turned white, and then a bittersweet smile touched her face as she shrugged,

"Every single time I try to remember my past, the same thought keeps popping up inside my head: What kind of horrible person…must I have been… to have had all my memories taken from me?"

Jūshirō's placed his hand reassuringly upon her shoulder, causing her to jump and look at him with wide eyes,

"None of that matters now. All that does matter is that you try to live your life they best way possible and hope for the best."

The serene smile on his face was contagious, causing her own smile to finally touch her eyes as she said, "Thank you. That's the most encouraging thing that I've heard in a long time."

Zetsubō's pace gradually began to slow until he was walking along the tall plaster wall that closed off the Ugendō estate from the prying eyes of the remainder of the Seireitei. The wolf came to a halt in the center of the courtyard leading inside Ugendō, the curved, oversized eaves of the gated entrance's blue roof perfectly complimenting the late evening sky.

Memori slid off of Zetsubō's back and held out a hand in order to help Jūshirō down.

"That won't be necessary," he said, sliding off of the tall beast just as easily as Memori. He took a moment to brush off his white haori, and then he looked at Memori, "Is it alright to pet him?"

There was a smile on her face as she nodded, and Jūshirō threaded his fingers through the luxuriously soft fur of Zetsubō's mane. The wolf made a low rumbling sound in his throat, closing his eyes and leaning into Jūshirō's gentle caress.

"That was exquisite," Jūshirō spoke quietly, but whether it was to himself or the wolf was unclear. "I've never raced through the Seireitei like that. Even using flash step."

"Raced?" Memori looked amused. "That wasn't even _half_ as fast as Zetsubō can go. When you get some free time, you should stop by Squad Eight's barracks and he can show you how fast he can _really_ run."

Jūshirō smiled, "I just might have to do that."

"Captain! _Captain_!"

The shrill cries came from behind the walls of Ugendō, causing Jūshirō to sigh as he heard the stampeding footsteps of his third seats. He looked back at Memori to bid farewell, but his words caught in his throat.

She was looking at him with the same expression as yesterday. Her delicate eyebrows were knit together in confusion, her pale expression almost that of pain as she regarded Jūshirō. Her eyes lingered on his long, snow white hair as the breeze swirled the strands around his waist, but when their green eyes met she visibly shivered and looked away.

She focused on the sun as it began to set, saying, "I have to run a few errands in Rukongai tomorrow, and I also plan on doing a walk-though of the districts under my squad's control. I heard that there was a pretty decent craftsman in one of them, and that he might have some unique pieces of furniture for my new office. Do you need anything while I'm there?"

He was surprised, "You're going to the Rukongai? It gets pretty nasty once you pass the fiftieth district. You're not going alone, are you?"

She slid her foot into the stirrup and climbed onto Zetsubō's back, "Of course not. Zetsubō will be with me. That's all I need."

"But, even still- Hey, hold on a minute!" he called after her as Zetsubō ran from the courtyard.

It was no use, though, because both of them disappeared from his sight in just a second. Jūshirō sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. Pulling a strand in before his eyes in order to look at the snow white color, he remembered the way she had looked at him…

It was as though she had been desperately trying to remember something.

~)(~

I rely on reviews for constructive criticism and even ideas. Feel free to shoot some my way, and I'll try to post another chapter soon!


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